Official Pokémon GO tips and suggested Pokémon to successfully defeat and catch the Legendary Registeel

Regice has retreated from Raid Battles, but a new challenger is approaching. The next Legendary Pokémon to appear in Pokémon GO is the Iron Pokémon, Registeel. The stout Steel-type will be appearing in Gyms only until August 21, 2018, so aim to catch one before it departs. Be sure to bring your friends along with you—thanks to a recent update, you may earn some extra Premier Balls if you do.

Registeel can be caught only with the Premier Balls you earn from defeating it, so you’ll need your Pokémon to perform well in battle to maximize your chances. You can participate in Raid Battles even if you’re not high-level or if your Pokémon aren’t the strongest, but you’ll have an easier time if you prepare. Check out our guide to training Pokémon in Pokémon GO to get your team up to speed, and then read on for some tips specific to counter Registeel effectively.

Suggested Pokémon

Battling Registeel will be much like battling Regice: both Pokémon are very durable, and both are weak against Fire- and Fighting-type attacks, which should be the focus of your offense. Unlike Regice, Registeel is weak against Ground-type attacks and resistant to Rock-type attacks, so you shouldn’t use Tyranitar this time. Registeel will know one of the Fast Moves, Metal Claw (Steel) or Rock Smash (Fighting), and one of the Charged Moves, Flash Cannon (Steel), Focus Blast (Fighting), or Hyper Beam (Normal). You may want to adjust your team a little once you see Registeel’s attacks.

Deploying the Fire- and Flying-type Pokémon Charizard and Moltres can make this encounter a relative breeze. Both Pokémon resist most of Registeel’s attacks, and Moltres’s damage output is the best available. Charizard’s damage isn’t shabby either, and you should prioritize Charizard that know Blast Burn from Community Day. Flareon, Entei, and Blaziken are also great choices despite resisting fewer of Registeel’s attacks, and you can even deploy Arcanine, Typhlosion, and Houndoom with confidence. These Pokémon will become even stronger on clear, sunny days—perfect for summer!

Fighting-type Pokémon are another great way to exert your strength. Machamp and Breloom will deal top damage in this encounter, and Hariyama will trail just behind. None of these Pokémon will resist Registeel’s attacks, however, so they may not last as long as the Fire-type Pokémon in battle. Heracross isn’t native to many areas, but if you have one available, it strikes a solid balance of offense and defense against Registeel that know Fighting-type attacks. Prioritize these Pokémon during the cloudy weather that empowers their offense.

Groudon would have been the best Ground-type Pokémon for this encounter either way, but it stands alone because so many others are weak to Registeel’s attacks, have much lower stats, or can’t learn a Ground-type Fast Move. Don’t feel bad if you have to fill out your roster with Golem or Rhydon, but be warned that they won’t fare as well in this encounter as they did against Raikou or Entei.

If you don’t have enough strong Fire- or Fighting-type Pokémon to complete a team, filling out your roster with generalists will be tricky. Raid Battle stalwarts Dragonite and Tyranitar match up very poorly with Registeel, while Salamence is effective only if it knows strictly Fire-type attacks. Instead, look to Pokémon like Gengar and Mewtwo. Move on to your strongest remaining Pokémon—except for those that know the Normal-, Grass-, Ice-, Flying-, Psychic-, Bug-, Rock-, Dragon-, Steel-, or Fairy-type attacks Registeel resists. Fire-type and Fighting-type Pokémon really are the way to go in this encounter, so make sure to exhaust your stock of them first.

Test Your Mettle

You won’t get many Premier Balls to catch Registeel once you’ve defeated it, so make each one count. With the recent update, though, you may get extra Premier Balls if you defeat Registeel alongside your friends, so be sure to bring them along. Use a Golden Razz Berry before each throw, and remember to stock up on them beforehand by defeating other Raid Bosses.

The odds of capturing Registeel are greatest while the target ring is at a small enough diameter to score Nice, Great, or Excellent Throws, and throwing Curveballs can improve your chances further. But work within your abilities—if you don’t think you can hit Excellent Curveballs reliably, aim for Nice or Great Throws rather than risk missing the target ring completely. Registeel isn’t the nimblest of Pokémon, so this may be a good encounter to test the edges of your skill.

You may waste your Premier Balls if your target is moving around when you throw them. Wait for Registeel to start acting up and for the target ring to disappear while it’s a size you’re comfortable throwing into, then time your throw so that the Premier Ball lands as the target ring reappears.

Legendary Pokémon are tough to catch, so don’t be discouraged if Registeel gets away the first time you defeat it. Stock up on useful items like Max Potions and Max Revives and try again later with some friends. (Hopefully they’ll send you some Gifts to stock back up!) Good luck with your next Raid Battle, and remember to check back at Pokemon.com/Strategy for more Pokémon GO, video game, and Pokémon TCG tips.